This thread is about your favorite perfumes, colognes, fragrances and smells. My favorite men's fragrance is the classic Drakkar Noir.
I have over 100 different perfumes. Close to double that if you count perfume oils. So I could bore this thread for a very long time. Lately I've been giving a lot of the older ones away as I will never use them all.. though the oils will last so I'm hoarding those. Wearing today: balmain de balmain.
^ If they're well sealed in a cool dark place... shouldn't the alcohol preserve it? I'm loving Abercrombie and Fitch Fierce right now. Babies - their breath and hands especially. The scent of something baking in the oven... Kissing someone on the head and being hit with a fresh shampoo or hair product scent... The scent of a new book. Freshly made aromatic rice. Slipping between freshly laundered bed sheets. Oud resin burning. This reminds me of... "I love the smell of napalm in the morning..." One of the sickest lines ever put to film.
Eventually they will go off. How long they last depends on storage, nozzle, use and also ingredients. Some notes have less shelf life, an oriental will usually last longer than a light floral. Also some brands seem eternal (Chanel) with decent care and others will suddenly turn. Today I was crammed up against some guy on a over heated tram and he had something on with a patchouli base note and he smelled fantastic. It wasn't overpowering and it just kind of turned the whole experience into an exciting bazaar. Or something. I wanted to ask him what it was but he was yelling into his phone the whole time.
^ I love asking people what they're wearing... especially clothes, makes their day, and you satisfy your own curiousity as well... saw a young Japanese guy in the most amazing really well fitted cable-knit sweater (which shouldn't have looked good because it's too grandad like, but did), I thought he would tell me who got it in some designer store in Japan five years ago or something... but he pointed me to a high street shop I would never have dreamed of looking in - WIN! Don't know what his girlfriend thought about it though, probably thought I was hitting on him.
I don't wear cologne - soap and water gets me clean, and that's enough for me. I don't really like to smell this stuff either. My favorite smells, though? When I walk into a baseball park and I get hit full in the face with the wafting from the concession stands. Hot dogs, popcorn, barbeque...
I don't wear perfume very often, so I keep only one around at a time. Right now, it's Liz Claiborne's signature scent. I also love Beyond Paradise (Estee Lauder) and Bobbi (Bobbi Brown).
Besides using Drakkar Noir, i also use Attitude Extreme Giorgio Armani for men. It has a great smell and the container looks like a over sized lighter.
I don't use perfume very often, but I found some cheap ones at Ulta that I may have to buy. I had one, a lavender scent, but the vial broke. On the plus side, everything in my bathroom drawer smells really nice now. I usually just use scented lotions or shower gels; that's about it.
Ditto. Without exception, every fragrance for men that I've ever smelled just seems vile to me. As for women's fragrances, I really don't pay attention to them unless they're overpowering. I don't expect people to smell like anything in particular; it's enough that they're reasonably clean. Could you give me your empty containers? I'm sure I could use them for something. Very stylish and Art Deco.
I love a good perfume but I'm not obsessed about it (unlike, you know, hats). I found one I like very much (an obscure Italian brand named "Replay"), and I've been wearing it for quite some years. It's pretty sweet for a man's perfume, but not overwhelmingly so (a quick research informs me its main notes are citrus, amber, and sandalwood). I guess I'm not that adventurous when it comes to smells.
Lately (in spite of having several big-name colognes in my arsenal) I've been wearing a combo of Bath and Body Works 'Oak' and Kanøn 'Norwegian Wood'. Both are a bit simple (Oak is a less complex and more cedary knock-off of Obsession for men while Norwegian Wood is a mildly spicy and just barely citrusy sandalwood scent) but together (on me at least) they mellow into a magically wild and woodsy blend that I'm pretty sure is the smell of misty arcane forests and legendary heroes.
I don't like modern perfumes - too heavy and kinda artificial imo. I very rarely put on parfume but if I do it's something quite old-fashioned: Chanel #1 (aka Coco). Not exactly cheap but what would life be without a pinch of decadence? Most of the time I just use a scented powder, preferably The Royal Horticultural Society's Peony powder.
I get very turned off by perfumes and colognes, though admittedly it is primarily because of the startling number of people who don't know how to wear them (helpful hint: if you smell like you'll burst into flames if someone lights a match too near you, you're wearing too much). I find all but the mildest, subtlest fragrances give me migraines, and more than once I've had to move subway cars because some cad on the train was wearing too much. My dad wears Old Spice, but he wears the right amount; I can smell it only when I hug him, and that's the way it should be.
I have one that I got as a present by Dolce & Gabana called "the one". Yeah it's cheesy as fuck, but I like the smell of it. I have it on once in a while, like if I'm going out and the such. And nothing more then a few spritzes. Not only do I not want to smell like a cologne section of a store, but my brother's asthmatic, so I don't wish im to suffer.
My method is generally to spray on just as I get out of the shower and let it dry on my skin before I get dressed. It tends to 'waft' less that way, and stick closer to my skin.
My new favorite: Marc Jacobs Honey. I love it. Other favorites- Vera Wang Princess, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Philosophy Amazing Grace, Kate Spade Twirl, and any of Clinique's Happy line.